Near Mount Solon in Augusta County, Virginia — The American South (Mid-Atlantic)

Mossy Creek

By Dawn Bowen, July 22, 2007

1. Mossy Creek Marker

Inscription.

Mossy Creek. . Colonists first settled Mossy Creek in the 1740s. Mossy Creek Iron Works was founded by 1775, when partners Henry Miller and Mark Bird began operating an iron furnace, forge, and mills here. The ironworks became an important industrial enterprise and produced pig iron and finished pieces that were sold throughout western Virginia. Bird sold his interest in the ironworks to Miller in 1779. A community grew up around the ironworks, which likely ceased operation during the Civil War. By 1852 the Mossy Creek Academy was established by Jedediah Hotchkiss, later the cartographer for Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The school remained in operation until about 1861.

Colonists first settled Mossy Creek in the 1740s. Mossy Creek Iron Works was founded by 1775, when partners Henry Miller and Mark Bird began operating an iron furnace, forge, and mills here. The ironworks became an important industrial enterprise and produced pig iron and finished pieces that were sold throughout western Virginia. Bird sold his interest in the ironworks to Miller in 1779. A community grew up around the ironworks, which likely ceased operation during the Civil War. By 1852 the Mossy Creek Academy was established by Jedediah Hotchkiss, later the cartographer for Confederate Maj. Gen. Thomas J. “Stonewall” Jackson. The school remained in operation until about 1861.

Erected 2001 by Department of Historic Resources. (Marker Number D-40.)

Location. 38° 21.479′ N, 79° 1.759′ W. Marker is near Mount Solon, Virginia, in Augusta County. Marker is at the intersection of Iron Works Road (County Route 809) and Virginia Route 42, on the right on Iron Works Road. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Mount Solon VA 22843, United States of America.

Additional comments. 1. Mossy Creek Iron Works in the Civil WarThis site marked the final spot of devastation by the 3rd Cavalry Division in Augusta County during the "Burning" of September-October 1864. Henry Forrer, also known for his iron works in Page County, ran this iron works site at the time of the war.

Here, Union troopers set to work destroying Forrer's barn and some of the buildings of the iron works. Damage was minimal, and curiously, the damage done to Forrer's works in Page County was also light, none of the furnaces being recorded as having been destroyed. Note To Editor only visible by Contributor and editor

— Submitted March 17, 2009, by Robert H. Moore, II of Winchester, Virginia.

Credits. This page was last revised on June 16, 2016. This page originally submitted on July 22, 2007, by Dawn Bowen of Fredericksburg, Virginia. This page has been viewed 2,321 times since then and 47 times this year. Photos:1, 2. submitted on July 22, 2007, by Dawn Bowen of Fredericksburg, Virginia. • J. J. Prats was the editor who published this page.

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